The present invention relates generally to side channel machines, and more particularly to a side channel machine having at least one impeller, which is rotatably mounted in the housing of the machine. In such machines, the impeller is comprised of a disk-shaped hub part and a hub part mounted on its periphery. The impeller can be mounted on the shaft of a drive motor by means of a hub bore provided on the hub part. With this design, a side channel is formed at least on one side of the blade ring in the housing and extends circumferentially between one intake and one outlet port of the housing. In addition, sealing gaps are usually provided at least in the area of the hub part which is radially, inwardly contiguous to the blade ring between this hub part and the housing.
Such a machine is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,022, which is hereby incorporated by reference. When these types of side channel machines are used in the food industry, strict hygienic requirements must be met, so the machine being used must be cleaned frequently. All surfaces which come in contact with the discharge medium, i.e., in the case of side channel compressors, all surfaces which come in contact with the delivery gas, must be treated. Problems result, in particular, with respect to the areas traversed solely by the flow of leakage gas current between the impeller and the machine housing.
The present invention is directed to the problem of developing a side channel machine of the generic type so as to allow all surfaces contacted by the discharge medium to be adequately cleaned, without having to disassemble the machine for this purpose.